Forever lost
by Kocoablue
Summary: The final battle is here, but how high a price will they be willing to pay for peace, especially when everything else has been lost. Please R&R, criticism is welcome, rated T for character death and dark themes.


_Gaea appeared to be sinking into the earth and Annabeth cried in delight, until she noticed that instead of being swallowed by the earth, the was simply falling to her knee's. "After all the things we went through to get here, it doesn't even work" she thought in heavy desperation, swallowing a sense of failure. After all it was her plan to try to take control of the earth and use it to control Gaea, the other 6 had agreed, even laughed at the irony of trapping the goddess in her own element. But now that was before, now all humour it gone almost all hope. _

_The attack had started at dawn assaulting both camps simultaneously so that neither could help the other, much of the camps were destroyed in the initial attack, the rest following after in the second and third attacks. The 7 returning victorious, after finally finding a way to defeat Gaea, had arrived too late. They fought together in the end, and held their dying cabin and barrack mates, the ground once covered with flowers and grass now stained the ugly red-brown of wasted blood. That was when they decided to go strait to Gaea and get this over and done with; there would be time for grief later._

_So now here they were, fighting a hopeless battle and all at once Annabeth felt like falling to her knees and giving up. She felt someone grasp her hand and turned to face her boyfriend, Percy, the reason she had kept fighting for so long in the first place. He turned to face her and whispered, "Do you remember when I promised that I would do whatever it took to save you". Annabeth nodded, not trusting herself to speak, "I can't break that oath, I know what we have to do, to defeat her"._

"_What?, my plan failed, there's no use fighting any more!"_

"_Your plan hasn't failed yet, but in order for it to work there has to be a sacrifice." Percy said the last bit with a grim determination that Annabeth immediately saw through. "No!" she cried "Percy you can't, haven't you already given enough"._

"_Just promise me you wont follow, okay", Annabeth shook her head as tears threatened to spill from her weary eyes. Percy held her face in his hand and gently wiped away the moisture underneath her eyes. "Someone has to do it, you can't change your fate"_

"_You shouldn't have to, if the gods hadn't shut themselves away from us for so long, you wouldn't have to do this. They should have to pay, not you". Annabeth stated this with a firm determination, but Percy just shook his head. "Well maybe life isn't fair, but I think we all just want this to be over, so we can rest, just promise me you wont try to follow me" Annabeth tried to shake her head again, but seeing the grim determination in his eyes she stopped and whispered, "I swear"._

_Maybe one day we'll meet in Asylum again, I'll wait for you for forever". Percy leant down and kissed her, and whispered, "I love you, wise girl, and no matter how our lives end, I always will", before walking towards Gaea, and his death._

_Percy cried out to the sky, offering his soul in exchange for the last of Gaea's power over the earth. At once he seemed to glow with a fluorescent light, and even as his life was fading away, he used the last of his power to force Gaea into the earth, where he hoped she would stay for eternity. Annabeth watched this through thick and heavy eyelashes, feeling as though she was watching a movie, where, in the end, the actors would, at the end of the day, get up and go back home. But she knew that Percy was dying and he wouldn't rise again. Breaking her swear she ran to him, just as the last of his soul was about to escape through his lips. "Tell me, didn't fail" he whispered. Annabeth shook her head, "no Percy you didn't fail, she's gone, we're safe". He smiled then his face creased, "Annabeth, I'm scared", his voice resembling that of a young child, realising that one day they will be dead. "Don't worry" Annabeth soothed, "I will stay right beside you forever" He smiled, then with his last breath said, "I kept my oath, your safe, never let this happen again, and" ha paused, fighting to stay conscious, "I love you, wise girl'. _

_As soon as she felt his heart beat slow, until it eventually stopped, she screamed. At Gaea, at Kronos, at the gods, her mother, everyone. Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank and Hazel were afraid to approach her in this state, but they knew she was hurt and they also had respects to pay to the dead hero. As they approached Annabeth turned to face them a wild glint in her eyes. Picking up her dagger, Piper realising what she was about to do spoke, "Annabeth don't, what if the world needs you again "_

"_They can find another hero"_

"_What about your father, camp?"_

"_He will survive, he has done it without me before, and camp no longer exists"_

_Then her tone softened and she looked at them with tears in her eyes "I love you all, and would die for any one of you, but what do you think I would do for him, just let me go, let me rest, please, I don't know what else to do", she paused and looking up at the sky, whispered "Hestia, it's time to let it go, for it's all been lost anyway" With this she picked up her dagger and thrust it into her heart, before falling lifeless over the body of her love, Percy Jackson._

_Gathering at what once was Camp Half-Blood, the remaining demigods stood alongside the gods and Chiron. Before them lay 2 shrouds, one the colour of the ocean, which was decorated with a pure white Pegasus, with its head bowed low gently skimming a lake of pure flat water, the other with an owl, mid flight, with it wings raised to the heavens. They gathered in silence as watched them burn slowly on the campfire. _

_On Olympus, Hestia sat next to her hearth, which was burning low and cold, though she knew, that new demigods would be born, to lead the next generation of hero's into battle and death, she knew that things would never be the same. So gently she reached for the pithos containing hope, and with a delicate hand she opened it, freeing its inhabitants. She sighed, Annabeth was right, now and forever more ho-e would be forever lost._

_**AN okay, after writing this I realised how depressing it sounded, so I thought I'd reassure any who actually reads this, that I actually usually don't write depressing stuff and am not depressed (except when watching Marly and Me or when my favourite character in a book dies e.g. Rue/Dobby/Fred/Tonks/Lupin/Bluestar/ect. )anyway, there is a point to this note…. But I forgot it… so anyway….. how's life…**_

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